The Price of Optimism and Experience
by RosieShiba
Summary: An aspiring Champion meets two people who will change his life forever if he only listens to them. Slight Ikarishipping for Easter. Enjoy!


**Here's just a random one shot for Easter Monday. It started out on a totally different note but ended up turning into this. So Enjoy!**

**I don't own Pokémon, but if I did, it would be about Paul and Dawn and full of Ikarishipping.**

**The Price of Optimism and Experience**

Love your Pokémon? How stupid was that? It was pathetically stupid! Probably even stupider than that! How was he supposed to believe that?

The aspiring Champion of Sinnoh sat down on a chair in the Pokémon Centre, thinking over what the real Champion had said to him.

The Champion was a sop. They didn't understand what it was like to train hard or push their Pokémon to the limits. They'd made it sound like it was easy, filled with hugs and cuddles from fluffy pink Pokémon. It wasn't like that at all. They had never tried like he had.

"Rough day?" a woman asked him. He looked up at her. She had a kind smile on her face, sparkling blue eyes and midnight blue hair. If he didn't know any better, she was beautiful.

"What's it to you?" he snapped, folding his arms over his chest. Usually people looked annoyed at being brushed off like this but this woman laughed. She shook her head a few times before she took a seat next to him.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"Damon," he replied, "Now leave me alone."

"Oh, I see," the woman mocked him, "You're a tough guy. No body knows how hard you've had it. You want to be the best and the only way you can be that is by training hard."

"Go away," Damon snapped again. This time the woman got to her feet. She sighed before turning on her heel. She walked into someone.

"Watch it," a man snapped as she apologised. The two people looked at each other before she began laughing. Damon rolled his eyes and looked at the other intruder to his quiet.

The other person was a strong looking guy with purple hair to just above his shoulders. He had coal coloured eyes. He was wearing brown trousers with a black top. It was long sleeved but the guy rolled them up to his elbows. He smirked at the woman.

"Oh it's you," he said, "Should have known. You always do get in my way."

"And you're always there to walk into," she replied, "I think you do it on purpose."

"Oh, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "Usually I use something shiny to get your attention rather than letting you walk into me."

"Blah, blah," she retorted. She looked at a Pokéball in the guy's hand. "Your Pokémon got hurt?"

"It's not mine," he explained, "It's the old mans. Apparently he sat on it again."

"Again? That's three times this week," the woman moaned.

"Excuse me," Damon said, clearly annoyed that these two were having this conversation in front of him, "But could you two go somewhere else to have your conversation?"

The guy didn't look too impressed by Damon's request but he didn't have time to say anything because the woman pushed him towards Nurse Joy's desk. Damon let out a sigh as peace settled once more. For a few seconds at least.

"OMG! It's her!" a girl yelled. Damon looked round to see a flash mob round the woman. She looked totally scared. Her friend had seemingly left her in the centre of the crowd, not even caring that she was lost in the centre of the mob.

"Dawn, Dawn, sign my magazine!"

"Sign my t-shirt!"

"Can I have a picture?"

"I love you Dawn!"

"Will you marry me?"

"No, she's going to marry me."

"Show us your Pokémon, Dawn!"

Damon rolled his eyes and looked away. He had more important things to concentrate on than one famous… person. Who was she any way? Damon shrugged and went back to his thoughts when-

"Ah!" another girly scream echoed through the Pokécentre, "It's Paul!"

"He's so handsome!"

"Paul, battle me!"

"No battle me!"

"Can I trade Pokémon?"

Damon stood up and looked at the purple haired guy. He was mindlessly signing anything that was given too him. Likewise with the woman. Now Damon recognised him. He was a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four. Why didn't he see it before? Paul was number one in the Elite Four, missing out on beating Cynthia by a hairline in the last Championship. Damon stormed over to Paul, pushing his way through the crowd.

"Paul, I challenge you to a battle!" Damon yelled. Everyone looked at him in shock and surprise, but Paul continued to sign autographs like nothing had been said. "Hey, did you hear me?"

"Why should I battle you?" Paul asked, without looking Damon in the face, "When you'll never listen to me?"

"I challenge you," Damon repeated.

"Denied," Paul told him, setting his cold eyes on the annoyed teen. Damon ran a hand through his black hair. He was so annoyed. Why wouldn't Paul battle him? The Champion had accepted a battle with him, why not Paul? Was Paul that stuck up?

"Dawn," Paul called across to Dawn. Dawn, who was in the centre of her own fan mob, looked over at him, pausing mid signature to see what he wanted. "You're going to battle."

"Fine," Dawn replied, like it was nothing. She returned to her autographing for a few minutes until she walked through the crowd to Paul. "Who am I battling?"

"Him," Paul said, pointing to Damon.

"I challenged you, not her," Damon spat.

"Well boo-hoo," Dawn said, "You've got me now. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Damon replied rolling his eyes, "Let's get on with it."

Seven point three nine minutes later Damon was back at the Pokémon Centre desk, putting three Pokéballs onto the counter. Dawn had totally wiped the floor with him which wasn't bad to say she was a co-ordinator. She's refused to battle him after his third Pokémon. Something about humiliation and running out of Pokémon herself. Not that she needed more than three in her party. Her Togekiss was so strong. It took out all of his Pokémon.

Defeated again.

"Don't take it so tough."

Damon turned round to see Paul walking towards him. Damon couldn't help but hang his head in defeat. Paul placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"The best lessons learnt are the ones that we teach ourselves," Paul told Damon.

"What? No, love your Pokémon? Take better care of them? Don't push them too hard?" Damon asked.

"Trust yourself," Paul replied, "Then you'll trust your Pokémon. Then you'll win."

"Really?" Damon asked, not really believing him.

"I was like you when I was your age," Paul stated, "I had a goal and I didn't care how I got there, until I realised that I realised I doubted myself. I thought I wasn't strong enough. I believed I wasn't. So I suffered, my Pokémon suffered and I lost. Then I took a new approach."

"You started to 'love' your Pokémon?" Damon asked.

"I changed my outlook on life," Paul replied, "A bit of optimism goes a long way. If you think you can do something, try it. It's only when you fail that you have to believe you can do it."

"So you made me battle her, because?" Damon asked.

"Because you needed someone to totally embarrass you," Paul said, "I mean, she's a co-ordinator. How lame can you get? Not putting a scratch on her Togekiss. Really?"

"Aren't you supposed to be nice?" Damon snapped, raising an eyebrow. Paul smirked before walking off.

"Allow life to change you, kid," Paul told him as he walked out of the door, "Not to much, but life's experience is priceless."

Damon thought about this for a few seconds before nodding. He began to contemplate his journey so far. He needed a new plan.

Dawn was stood outside the Pokémon Centre watching the young trainer through a window. She looked on with a smile on her face. Paul walked out of the automatic doors and walked straight towards her, glancing through the window at Damon.

"Thanks so much for helping him, Paul," she said to her friend. Paul nodded slowly. "He needed a break after Cynthia flattened him."

The pair of them turned and walked away from the Pokémon Centre. Paul had his hands in his pockets while Dawn had hers behind her back. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Chocolate milkshake?" Paul asked suddenly, "My treat."

"You know I can't say no to a chocolate milkshake, Paul," Dawn replied, beaming at him. Her smile faded for a few seconds. "Did you mean what you said? About optimism and experience?"

"Sure," Paul said, "After all, I've got them both to thank for you."

"Me?" Dawn asked, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

"It was optimism that made me think 'I'm sure she'll go out with me'," Paul explained, "While experience told me how not to do it."

"Hey look! It's Paul and Dawn!"

Dawn and Paul looked at each other, smiles growing across their faces. Dawn giggled as she plucked Togekiss' Pokéball from her belt. Paul grabbed Honchkrow's.

"Never a moment to ourselves," Paul remarked.

"It's what you get for being famous," Dawn told him.

"The price of optimism and experience? You and a fan mob?" Paul said, "I would prefer just the one."

"We are the power couple of the century, Paul. What do you expect?" Dawn asked in a mocking sort of way.

"Either way," Paul said, "Let's just get out of here."

Damon watched as Paul and Dawn flew on their respective Pokémon into the sun set. He could have sworn he heard Dawn's laugh from the distance. Damon looked at the Pokéball in his hand. Experience and optimism, eh? Well it was a lot better than soppy advice from the champion.

Damon noticed a pink haired girl drop her Pokéball. It rolled towards his foot. Slowly he picked it up and offered it back to her.

Optimism: she would be his friend.

Experience: he knew how not to blow it.

**So hope people liked that XD A special little treat for Easter from me to you. Enjoy your chocolate people!**

**RSx**


End file.
